Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Paramaribo

For one person, living costs are similar in Lima and in Paramaribo: $996 and $984 a month, rent and utilities included.

49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Paramaribo
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Paramaribo Living Index

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Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$996

/mo nomad

Paramaribo

🇸🇷 Suriname

$984

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Paramaribo

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Lima and in Paramaribo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $996 in Lima versus $984 in Paramaribo.

Lima $996
Paramaribo $984

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,594 in Lima versus $1,657 in Paramaribo.

Lima $1,594
Paramaribo $1,657

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,191 in Lima versus $2,331 in Paramaribo.

Lima $2,191
Paramaribo $2,331

Living in Lima is roughly 1% more expensive than in Paramaribo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 26% lower, Paramaribo 27% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.42 PEN 15.16

$13.44 SRD 504

-67.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.04 PEN 120

$52.4 SRD 1,964

-33.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.84 PEN 23.44

$10.99 SRD 412

-37.76%

Cappuccino

$3.27 PEN 11.22

$2.88 SRD 108

13.54%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.10 PEN 3.78

$1.41 SRD 52.9

-21.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 PEN 2.22

$0.88 SRD 32.91

-26.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.58 PEN 8.85

$2.66 SRD 99.7

-3.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 PEN 15.34

$3.89 SRD 146

14.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 PEN 5.46

$1.83 SRD 68.7

-13.11%

White Bread (500g)

$2.58 PEN 8.86

$1.39 SRD 52.2

85.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.36 PEN 4.65

$1.61 SRD 60.3

-15.53%

Eggs

$2.95 PEN 10.11

$2.98 SRD 112

-1.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.10 PEN 31.19

$11.84 SRD 444

-23.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.81 PEN 19.91

$6.17 SRD 231

-5.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.83 PEN 33.68

$10.18 SRD 381

-3.44%

Apples (1kg)

$2.01 PEN 6.89

$4.77 SRD 179

-57.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.08 PEN 3.69

$3.11 SRD 116

-65.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 PEN 4.70

$3.73 SRD 140

-63.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.48 PEN 5.06

$5.89 SRD 221

-74.87%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 PEN 3.30

$1.33 SRD 49.77

-27.82%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 PEN 2.92

$2.02 SRD 75.6

-57.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.88 PEN 3.02

$1.48 SRD 55.6

-40.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 PEN 2.97

$1.51 SRD 56.4

-42.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.24

$5.58 SRD 209

5.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.81 PEN 30.21

$7.80 SRD 292

12.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 PEN 6.57

$2.00 SRD 75.0

-4.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 PEN 10.98

$3.78 SRD 142

-15.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$0.77 SRD 28.90

-11.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.74 PEN 91.7

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.06

$2.13 SRD 79.8

78.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.04 PEN 7.00

$1.54 SRD 57.8

32.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.14 PEN 24.49

$7.17 SRD 269

-0.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.65 PEN 5.65

$1.19 SRD 44.50

38.66%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$22.2K PEN 76.0K

$24.6K SRD 921.2K

-9.80%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$25.7K PEN 88.0K

$25.3K SRD 948.6K

1.39%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$73.0 PEN 250

$37.31 SRD 1,398

95.77%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$16.26 PEN 55.7

$25.70 SRD 963

-36.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.60 PEN 94.6

$30.67 SRD 1,149

-10.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.07 PEN 113

$13.84 SRD 518

138.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.49 PEN 66.8

$20.32 SRD 761

-4.08%

Cinema Ticket

$7.39 PEN 25.33

$4.96 SRD 186

48.99%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$182 PEN 624

$62.3 SRD 2,335

192.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K PEN 45.7K

$1,739 SRD 65.2K

665.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.6 PEN 180

$33.84 SRD 1,268

55.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.23 PEN 117

$20.87 SRD 782

64.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.8 PEN 287

$67.4 SRD 2,525

24.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.0 PEN 271

$104 SRD 3,903

-24.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$723 PEN 2,479

$487 SRD 18.3K

48.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$340 PEN 1,166

$263 SRD 9,855

29.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,184 PEN 4,060

$949 SRD 35.6K

24.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$635 PEN 2,176

$508 SRD 19.0K

25.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,449 PEN 8,394

$462 SRD 17.3K

429.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,372 PEN 4,702

$400 SRD 15.0K

242.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$653 PEN 2,237

$279 SRD 10.5K

133.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

-44.13%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Lima: October 4, 2026

Last update for Paramaribo: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$340 33.6%

Paramaribo

$263 26.3% 22.7% $77

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.4%

Paramaribo

$300 30% 32.4% $73

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

Paramaribo

$205 20.5% 65.5% $81

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

Paramaribo

$94 9.4% 19.9% $23

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

Paramaribo

$102 10.2% 9.3% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$48 4.7%

Paramaribo

$24 2.4% 50.4% $24

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

Paramaribo

$13 * 1.3% 70.3% $31

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $723 in Lima and $487 in Paramaribo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lima pays 134% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $35.00 in Lima vs $52.0 in Paramaribo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $300 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇸🇷 Paramaribo

🕒 Local time

01:13 1:13 AM

03:13 3:13 AM

2 h ahead of Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

242,946 Capital

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Surinamese Dollar SRD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.292 USD

1 PEN = 0.26 EUR

100 SRD = 2.67 USD

100 SRD = 2.38 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SRD, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.292 USD). 1 EUR = 3.84 PEN (1 PEN = 0.26 EUR).

Surinamese Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 37.47 SRD (100 SRD = 2.67 USD). 1 EUR = 42.03 SRD (100 SRD = 2.38 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lima Paramaribo 3,130 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Paramaribo

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Lima vs Paramaribo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Paramaribo differ by about 1% in total monthly costs ($996 vs $984 including rent). Paramaribo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 134% higher in Lima, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $723 in Lima versus $487 in Paramaribo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Lima pay roughly 32% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $996 per month in Lima versus $984 in Paramaribo – a 1% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $984 in Paramaribo versus $996 in Lima, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Paramaribo but tight or insufficient in Lima. The gap between the two cities makes Paramaribo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Paramaribo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 1% less than in Lima. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.